John McCain Biography

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Biography:

After his release, McCain served as a Republican representative and senator in the state of Arizona.

During the time of John III’s arrival, the McCain family was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, under American management.

Both McCain’s father and paternal grandfather, John Sidney McCain Sr., were four star admirals. John S. McCain Jr. rose to control all U.S. naval forces in the Pacific.

McCain spent his youth and teenage years going between naval bases in The United States and abroad.

Following in the footsteps of his dad and grandpa, McCain graduated (fifth from the underside of his class) from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958. He also graduated from flight school in 1960.

He escaped serious harm on July 29, 1967, when his A-4 Skyhawk airplane was accidentally shot with a missile on board the USS Forestal, causing explosions and fires that killed 134.

He broke both arms and one leg through the ensuing crash. McCain was transferred to Hoa Loa penitentiary, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton,” on December 9, 1969.

Though McCain had lost most of his physical strength and flexibility, he was decided to carry on serving as a naval aviator. Following a debilitating nine months of rehabilitation, he returned to flying duty, but it soon became clear that his injuries had forever impaired his power to progress in the Navy.

In 1981, after marrying his second wife, Cindy Hensley, McCain retired in the Navy, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. While working in public relations for his father in law’s beer supply company, he started creating links in politics.

McCain was elected to political office on November 2, 1982, easily winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after his wellknown war record helped conquer doubts about his “carpetbagger” standing. He was reelected in 1984.

Having adapted nicely to the mostly conservative politics of his home state, McCain was a dedicated supporter of the Reagan administration and found his place among other “New Right,” or old-fashioned, politicians.

In 1986, following the retirement of longtime Arizona senator and leading Republican Barry Goldwater, McCain won election to the U.S. Senate. Both in the House as well as the Senate, McCain earned a reputation as a conservative politician who wasn’t afraid to challenge the ruling Republican orthodoxy. In 1983, as an example, he called for the withdrawal of U.S. Marines from Lebanon, and openly criticized the government’s handling of the Iran-Contra affair.

He was finally cleared of the charges, although researchers declared he had exercised “poor judgment” by meeting with all the regulators.

McCain weathered the scandal and won reelection to the Senate three times, each time using a strong bulk. His reputation as a “maverick politician” with strong beliefs along with a quick temper just grown, and many were impressed by his openness to be exceptionally open with all the people as well as the press. He’s worked diligently in support of increased tobacco laws and reforming the campaign finance system, professing more liberal views and generally proving to be more complicated when compared to a straight-ahead conservative.

In 1999, McCain released Faith of My Fathers, the narrative of his family’s military history and his own experiences as a POW. He also appeared as a strong opposition to the frontrunner, Governor George W. Bush of Texas, for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. A lot of people from both political parties found his straight talk refreshing. In the New Hampshire primary, McCain won by a surprisingly wide margin, mainly reinforced by independent voters and crossover Democrats.

Following a roller coaster ride through the primaries—Bush won South Carolina, while McCain gained Michigan and Arizona—Bush appeared victorious on “Super Tuesday” in early March 2000, winning New York and California, among several other states. Though McCain won all the New England states, his big electoral deficit induced him to “freeze” his campaign forever. On May 9, 2000, after holding out for two months, McCain officially supported Bush.

In August 2000, McCain was identified as having skin cancer (he’d lesions on his face and arm, which physicians decided were unrelated into a similar lesion he’d removed in 1993). He later underwent operation, during which all the cancerous tissue was successfully removed. McCain additionally got routine prostate operation for an enlarged prostate in August 2001.

The bill was the fruit of McCain’s six-year attempt to reform the system, as well as Democratic Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin. Essential to the McCain-Feingold bill was a contentious prohibition on the unrestricted contributions to political parties known as “soft money.” The brand new law was narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003.

McCain supported the Iraq War, but criticized the Pentagon several times, particularly about low troop strength. At one point, McCain declared he had “no confidence” in the direction of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. McCain supported the 2007 upsurge of more than 20,000 troops, which supporters said increased security in Iraq.

McCain also openly supported President Bush’s bid for reelection, although he disagreed with Bush on several issues, including torture, pork barrel spending, illegal immigration, a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage and global warming. He also secured the Vietnam War record of Bush’s opponent, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, which came under attack throughout the campaign.

With Bush restricted to two periods, McCain formally entered the 2008 presidential race on April 25, 2007, during an announcement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Not long after, he ensured the Republican nomination in the election. After formally becoming the Republican Party’s nominee, McCain delivered a speech: “Now, we start the main element of our effort: to create a respectful, motivated and persuasive claim to the American people our campaign and my election as president, given the options presented by our buddies in another party, are in the very best interests of the nation we love,” he said.

Nonetheless, McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, were conquered by Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 election.